Professor Steve P. Calandrillo, Chryssa V. Deliganis, and Andrea Woods
83 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 829
The “smart growth” movement has had a significant influence on land
use regulation over the past few decades, and promises to offer the antidote to
suburban sprawl. But states and local governments that once enthusiastically
touted smart growth legislation are beginning to confront unforeseen obstacles
and unintended consequences resulting from their new policies. This Article
explores the impact of growth management acts on private property rights,
noting the inevitable and growing conflicts between the two sides that legislatures
and courts are now being asked to sort out. It assesses the problems with
creating truly intelligent urban growth, ranging from political motivations to
inconsistent judicial determinations to NIMBYs to constitutional takings
jurisprudence.
This Article predicts dramatically increased land use litigation as the
likely result of smart growth legislation in the coming decades unless legislatures
and courts enact sensible reforms today. If we want “smart growth” to
live up to its name, we must remove it from local politics, get serious about
consistently enforcing urban growth boundaries or priority funding areas, and
even consider reforming America’s individualistic notion of private property
rights as we know it.
